Crazy/unusual designs..

[shannonlovesflowers]

So like I stated in another thread, I just got my November Flowers& magazine.

The designs in it are fantastic. There is not one that I looked at it and went "ewww."

So this is my dilemma.

My mom is also a designer, she's 57 years old, she works part time at the shop I manage.
She's a pretty good designer too, but she's a little old school.

Every now and then I show her some design that I think is just fantastic, usually something like Hitomis designs. I think she will be just as excited as me. Nope, never. And I mean never ever never.

Now I can't even believe I'm going to say this BUT here goes:

maybe my mom is "Jane public"

Don't get me wrong I do have my customers who love my artsy stuff.

I personally would like nothing more than to do nothing but fantastic designs like in this months Flowers&.

So I'm wondering, realistically, is that what the PUBLIC wants, or is that what I want to design and want them to want??

Now I will say this. a couple of weeks ago we sent out an arrangement that by all accounts was a roundy moundy, but with a twist. It was what the customer wanted to send. Fine. Then the recipient calls to place an order, and informs us that she HATES that type of design. She like the designs with "a flower down low and whispy things at the top" OK, no prob.

I think that there are so many different design styles and tastes anymore it's getting harder and harder to please people. Plus I think we have the problem of so many people move here all the time and from all over the place.

We have some customers that have no problem at plunking down $200 for an arrangement and others that gasp at a $10 delivery charge.

I want to please them all.


So here's the nitty gritty and my question to you:

Do you have the same problems? I guess it's not really a problem.
Do you still design pretty much the way you did in the 70's? or 80's or even 10 years ago?

I don't, but I'm wondering if I'm going to fast for our customer base. Or maybe not fast enough...

<sigh> I'm just having one of those days. ya know, questioning myself, checking myself.

Anyways, any thoughts on this will be appreciated.

 

[Knife's Wife]

We find it exactly the way you describe. What one customer hates another loves and vise versa. One minute I am having to think totally outside the box and the next I am stuffing a 6" basket with poms, carns, minis and alstro.

It is one of the dilemmas of this business...

We try to cater to whatever the customer wants. Our image is not based on our design but rather our customer service, quality of flowers and our adaptability to the customers wants.

We always have as many styles and prices in the cooler as possible each day. I want everyone who comes in to be able to find something that suits their taste as well as their pocket book.

A revelation hit me one day a few years ago... We sell alot of over $100.00 arrangements, but no matter what style they were done in I could never sell them out of the cooler. I finally figured out that the ones willing to spend that kind of money want to know that you "just" made it, (they think it is fresher) and they want to know that it was made "just" for them. Do others find this so?

Joan

 

[Dick Adgate Florist]

I agree with Joan. We sell unique and up-scale designs but never from the cooler. I have taken to filling my display cooler with more loose bouquets and buckets of flowers for sale by-the-stem. I pre-make less arrangements. I keep a couple rose arrangements ( for the busy lovers) some seasonal baskets and vase arrangements and a couple sympathy arrangements. That's it. Everything else is made to order.

 

[RWK]

I have so much to reply to this....but I need to get my thoughts together. Stay tuned.......

 

[Brad]

I think it is nice to have an artsy design in the cooler shows your customers what you can do and makes you different than every place else even if they do not buy it and may help sell the design next to it and open the customers mind.aintplus Rock on Shannon:musical:

 

[Knife's Wife]

I was by no means suggesting not to have artistic designs in the cooler. We have about 30 arrangements at all times, all styles, all prices. Just the artsy $100.00 and up designs do not sell out of the cooler, those customers want it to be their very own. We keep about 1/3 of our cooler arrangements artsy. That is because be get more traditional customers that come in (older ladies) the younger fab crowd mostly call on the phone from work.

Joan

 

[sklepikova]

i don't know if that is the answer but i feel that some how my example is connected to this thread. Studiing closely the history of fine art you will notice what an incredible change happened in the relationship artist-art buyer. till nineteenth century no matter how great an artist was the customer bought his HANDS choosing him for different commissions. Even the greatest ones had to compromise and give up sometimes thear view in order to make a customer happy. and then 19-th century comes........... all the sudden the customers started to appreciate more and more artist's opinion prefering it over their ones....... and since then buyer started to pay for artist's BRAIN and SOUL........ not hands...... nowadays i think there is an equal amount of demands of HANDS and BRAINS..... though i see a tendancy for the second one.........so......how is that connected to what we are doing????????? our customers are still somewhere in the middle age in their attitude to the final product......... i don't want to offend them.....but........i am quite fed up with everydays "bright and chearful", "big and showy"............. and i know that will take loooooooooooooooooooooong time to to get to the day without them.......... on the other hand.......... there customers.......no...... Customers...............who come there for my personnality (sure skillfull hands would be a good addition , ideas.....etc....................... it's much less of them than of the first group....but they are here.... and that's why i guess i'm still here too...............

 

[kerrlynne]

I feel your pain..

That is our problem too. We have such a wide range of customers,
regulars that want just what they got 30 years ago and pay the same price, and the younger ones that want the shabby chic.. etc.
roses in a tea cup to the cylinder vase with submerged flowers.
It seems like we have to interogate each customer on what they want and expect from us. I feel that we are "well rounded" shop and try not to cater to a certain style or trend. But I wonder if that hurts us or helps us in the long run.. I have new customers that started buying from us because they like our traditional funeral work-
mache, glads, emerald..bow.. big and full ( yuck!) but they will spend the money if it is what they want.. but the next customer just raves about another florist in close by town that does the best tropicals and unsual work. And goes on and on about the bouquet they received and how great & unique it was, and I have seen their work they are great but they dont do $50 orders.. They dont do traditional ever! I inform that customer no problem we can do something like that . But they dont what to spend the money!! How do you or do you change all your ways and isolate some customers to attract new ones..??

 

[sklepikova]

the point of my post was that it takes much more from the designer to go from the one who was chosen by a customer (which by any means is very important) to another kind who can afford to chose a customer......... and i know quite a few of them......

 

[jamese]

It is important to reamain true to your vision and purpose of your shop, and what it speaks of your ability to motivate and maintain your customers. That said, it is also the most important "vision" to know your customer needs and what theyare willing to buy and gift others.
We creative types always want the leading edge styles, flowers and showing we love our trendy looks, but ALWAYS make sure you are servcing your customer needs, listen they will tell you.
And always have those "trendy" looks in that cooler, it is important that everyone see what can be done with flowers and design styles.

 

[alisonm1215]

I bought a small slow shop. It was a great deal and it has great exposure and it was perfect for me because I can usually run it myself. I purchased it from a very frilly designer that loves coutry ducks and lace and bows. So you can imagine how nervous I was coming in all stuborn like with my 'Hippy Chic" self determined to change the floral face of this town. Well, I guess I've been very blessed because I have still maintained most of the previous owners client base and I have not yet had to order baby's breath--knock on wood. I have to agree with knife, honestly, everything that has been pre-made and is stored in the cooler--rots. I have displays of my less conventional work out of the cooler and customers see them and order something similar. They are always priced at $69 and higher. No gawking from the client. Makes me happy. I have the occassional budget Barbie that has traditional tastes--which works well too--cuz carnations and leather are cheap. Win Win
I guess it all boils down age-old subjectivity--sometimes they like it and sometimes they don't. I just put on my best smile and say "you can have whatever your little heart desires; if I have it in stock."

 

[aileen_c]

Well since I don't make any of the arrangements in the cooler or on the floor for that matter I have to say I do SELL what is in the cooler. Somehow over the weekend when I'm on my own I happen to sell whatever is in the cooler. I don't think I have ever seen an arrangement rot in ours. I've only been with the shop since May though. There have been a few weekends where I get nervous since by almost close of Sunday the cooler looks bare since I have sold mostly all the rose arrangements and the "cheaper" arrangements.
At times our designer will have a one or two designs in there that are not traditional and I sell them! some people walk in and see a certain flower in the arrangement and just stay clear of it...they only see the flower and not the design. I don't think people are taught or conditioned to view the arrangements as art. Whenever a sculpture, painting, woodcarving, etc is presented to us in a gallery format we automatically know that it's art and we're to look at it as a whole not in parts.
With floral design, people haven't been taught that it's an art...they just see it as a service and therefore we are there to serve them and do whatever it is they want. That's my theory anyway!

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

Good for you Aileen! I sell out of the cooler as well, I have no problem with that for sure!



And BTW everybody, sorry for that first post, it kinda rambled. But I'm having a hard time trying to say what I'm thinking.

I love design. Weather it's well thought out or natural, I love design.
I love making money too.

what I'm thinking is this... I'm going to have to become less of "designer" and more of an arranger.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<big disgusted sigh>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I know it, It kills me.

I tell myself all the time that just because I think something is so wonderful and great, not everyone else will. That is so hard for me.

I have no passion to be an arranger. All the passion to design. Only passion equal to design is money. Sorry that sounds crass, but it's my truth. I do not like not being able to pay my bills. I've done that before, and it sucks.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I'm going to start only doing roundy moundy baskets or that dam* TF107-01 brighten your day yuck
(I hate that arrangement, I'm so sick of making it)

But the truth of it is, I have made TF107-1 50 million times. I know it in my sleep.
And get this, I hate it SO much that I priced it on our website at $57.00. AND PEOPLE STILL BUY IT!!!!! What does that tell you?

I don't know what my deal is, but lately I see so much gray, things are not what I thought and for sure they are not black and white.

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<another big sigh>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

it's like a whole new chapter of my life is beginning. It's not just changing all sneaky like. I can feel it. It's weird.

maybe it's menopause, gawd I hope not! I'm only 37! But whatever it is, I feel it coming.

 

[sklepikova]

Don't give up, Shannon!!!!!! i think that if a good pianist will decide to try playing bad...... at one point he'll go back (subconciously) to the best of his abilities. if you are a very talented designer (not arranger!!!) from nature - you can't fight..... your nature will take it over..

 

[alisonm1215]

Sounds like you got the designer funk. I used to get it all the time when I was in graphics. If I had to draw another as-seen-on-TV star-splat, I felt like I was going to rip my eyeballs out of their sockets. Sadly, I never found a quick cure, but eventually something fresh would pop up and I'd feel refreshed and ready to design again.
Good luck with your new chapter--let's hope it is not menopause--I'm 45 and it is just starting. Believe me, it's no fun.

 

[Posey]

So like I stated in another thread, I just got my November Flowers& magazine.

I don't, but I'm wondering if I'm going to fast for our customer base. Or maybe not fast enough...

Shannon,
Over the last 32 years I have noticed that our industry is so far ahead of the general public. We see silk flowers and ribbon colors a couple years before most of the public. Same with design. Hang on to that Flowers& magszine 3 years or so and then compare what you see in it to a few shelter magazines. Generally they will be shockingly similar.

Most of our clients like a nice english garden style arrangement, but then there are those who are exposed to furniture or fabric design etc. They like to see new and exciting. These customers let us push the limits of desin. Thank goodness for them or us creative tywould sure get board!

Sharon

 

[Michelle McMichael]

I know this sounds strange, but I think about this whenever I go get my hair done.

The stylists at my salon go to all the "design shows" (just like we florists) and they come back talking about the crazy, cutting edge hairstyles they saw. And how they could never do them here... no one would want them. (sound familiar?)

And I think about how that's true, most of their clients would never want some super crazy artistic hairdo. They just want "something pretty and feminine". (Sound familiar?)

But the fact is, I ALWAYS tell them to do whatever they want to me. And they do. And I ALWAYS wish it was just a little funkier. I have told them I want to be more cutting edge, trendy. A few times ago I actually used they words "trashy hot". But I still got fairly traditional. I have considered going elsewhere to get something more trendy, even though I have been going to this lady for many years and I love her.

Sorry.. getting a little off track...

I guess my point is that any industry is going to have a cutting edge that 99% of the public is not ready for yet. You are there for that cutting edge 1% of the public today and to educate and illuminate that other 99% who will be ready in two years (maybe).

I'm sure that your fans appreciate you!

 

[Tuberose]

20 years ago people all saw the same style of design in most all of the shops, all roundy moundy and stuffed to the gills with the same few flower types. McDonalds also was one of the few fast food places then as well, you got what they had on the menu and not much else was offered.

In this day and age there are many types of fast food places with any number of choices, catering to each person's desires. We have become a nation of choices, the fewer choices the angrier we get, we're spoiled and want more options. It's the same with flowers, we now want a choice, we don't want to have to like what our grandmothers liked. The name of the game for any business that's consumer driven is to offer the public the most choices geared to the business we're in. Do you carry 500 different styles and colors of vases? Prolly not, so you have to make the preliminary choices for your customers, have caught flack over that before too.

The fortunate thing about fresh flowers is that if it's not the recipient's style, it's no biggie, they die anyway. There also was a time when people appreciated the flowers no matter what style, they're picky now. Ah well, I just roll with the punches, try to educate people about different styles and options while trying to make them happy at the same time.

Trish

 

[lori042499]

Shannon, Welcome to the real world....

I have no doubt that all of the designers in here love to make the arrangements that are funky and really designed, it is what we do some better than others...you happen to be a better designer than most. Your designes are well thought out beautiful and arty...There is nothing wrong with that....except that most people are like forest gump, they have no idea about art, they want to buy flowers and most could not even tell you what they like....they can definately tell you spot on what they don't like after they see it. People in general come to a flower shop because they want flowers...most people have an idea how much of a flower arrangement they want when they have a price in mind, it is our job to "interrogate" them to find out if they are plain jane or funky fresh..Most people that are receptive to anything will say do what you do best, I always love what you do, or I like really funky flowers. The other response I hear is I don't know anything about flowers just send anything...You can usually know that a doctors wife used to the finer things in life will be more receptive to something designed better with more expensive flowers, where as an arrangement going to a clerk at Dunkin donuts may appreciate sometihing with a lot more value bigger and more stuffed.

Years ago flower shops carried maybe 7-8 types af flowers and they bought by the box...The bought carns, poms, minis, liatris, iris, roses, disbuds of all sorts and maybe a liatris or snap for line and bb for filler....every arrangement was made out of these flowers...all arrangements basically were the same with a T or an L arrangement thrown in here and there...Flower shops also were more profitable because they bought so frugally and had so few choices and bought by the box..Then Martha came along and let everyone at home know that you can get this flower and that flower and let us all know that if you buy it and use it people will want it...not all but some..and the some will become more...we alos became a bit less profitable because we now carry 20 or 30 different types of flowers and buy 1-2 bunches of this and that, but have had a hard time going up on prices because people don't understand how this works...

 

[RWK]

Ok.....I am going to try and express what is on my mind about this.

In reality Shannon, your 'problem' is not a problem at all. There is no hard and fast answer. We as creative people see the world differently. We are 'tuned' in to the arts, the intangible. We are 'blessed' with the sense of beauty in a way.

A lot of our customers are not. A lot of our customers are.

So, How do we match our creative visions with the customers who appreciate that? In all honesty.....We can't....not 100 percent of the time.

Also, there is a generational viewpoint. Try this.....gather a bunch of older design magazines, selection guides, etc.....Show them to your Mom, and ask her to pick the arrangements that move her....just as a Hitomi Floral Sculpture moves you.

It's the same at AIFD National. Invariably, there is a program that will almost move the audience to a new level of awe and wonder. When I attended symposium in DC....there was a Brazilian designer there.....Ricardo Costa AIFD. His program was incredible.....not for the floral work presented, but his love, depth, and passion for flowers. Others saw the design by Moneqe Van de Berg (sp?) as awe-inspiring.

Conversly, there was a series of lunchtime programs.....Bert Ford AIFD did one on sympathy designs.....Jon Throne AIFD did one on roses. I saw the sympathy program as moving, and inspired.......others saw Jon's the same way. I was not a fan of that program.

We as designers have to find that balance.....( and it is not easy )......between us as business people and as artists.

As I said in another thread.....The most staid, traditional roundy-moundy design of carnations, daisies, statice, baby's breath, and leatherleaf done and executed PERFECTLY with all the principles and elements of design present in that design IS NO LESS a design than a Phil Rulloda AIFD tropical masterpeice or a Hitomi Gilliam AIFD twig armature sculpture with interwoven callas.

What we need to do......and it is not easy......is to focus less on what we love and focus more on what they love. There are tons of florists out there who have not grasped this simple concept.....and they are the ones struggling....." WHAT I LIKE DOES NOT MATTER ONE HILL OF BEANS......WHAT THE CUSTOMER LIKES IS WHAT MATTERS "

The trap that a lot of us artists and creative people fall into is thinking that everybody sees the world around us as we do. We see the world around us like a small child sees the world.......full of life, beauty, imagination, and sheer wonderment. We can look at a tree and see so much.....others look at that same tree and see nothing of value. We stand beside a rushing stream......and see the myriad of possibilities.....the beauty in the rushing water......the inspiration for a magnificent waterfall design.....and someone else looks at that same stream......and sees nothing but dirty mud tracked on my white carpet.

Shannon......We have to change our focus......from the art of design to the sheer love of flowers. The simple daisy has as much power to charm, delight, and bring beauty to our eyes as the ginger does.



As I have said many, many, many times......"How will I know it is time for me to leave the world of flowers and seek my passion elsewhere.......simple......When God stops growing beautiful flowers"